Trials for Meridian's Throne
by XV-Dragon
Summary: <html><head></head>Sequel to War for Meridian's Throne. The war might be over, but Will challenges are not. Not when the Meridian's nobles force her prove she is fit to a princess and the future queen.</html>
1. Investigation into an Heir's Past

AN: Here is the sequel to War for Meridian's Throne, it's been started a bit sooner than I had planned, been having way too many new ideas in my head lately.

The beta reader for this story is Darev, who was a huge help in War for Meridian's Throne and with his help, we should be in for a great fic! Thanks once again for helping out my friend :D

Disclaimer: Do not own W.I.T.C.H.

000

Chapter 1: Investigation into an Heir's Past

It had been two months since the end of Meridian's civil war and Phobos' defeat at the hand both his cousin Wilhelmina and the Guardians. This brought about the end of his rebellion against

Queen Susan and restored peace to Meridian. This meant that things could return to the way they were before the war, which was good for the most part. Farmers could plant and harvest their crops without fear of being raided by rebels, as well as regain their farmhands that had joined the fighting for either side; while craftsmen and merchants who had sided with Phobos now where providing their full stock to the public, instead of hoarding the best for the rebels.

Even former soldiers who had fought on both sides of the conflict, former enemies-turned-allies could now offer their skills to the weakened royal guard, thus giving it much needed manpower for both policing the cities and towns, and for providing aid in rebuilding what had been lost in the many battles. Of course, there were still investigations into these soldiers to ensure none might still harbor resentment towards the current ruler, since 13 years of war made it hard to let go of the hatred and mistrust some of former rebels might hold.

There was also looking into how to choose which areas needed more resources since many towns and villages had been raided over the course of the war, and many farm lands been burned in rebel attacks**, **in the hopes of weakening the Queen's support.

With limited resources, honest merchants and craftsmen lacked the materialsneeded to make items, while the less honest sold items at high prices out of greed and the knowledge that there was high demand.

Along with all of these attempts to rebuild Meridian and ensure no other conspirators were left, there also came the return of the noble houses; many of whom avoided choosing sides during the conflict.

If a noble family had chosen a side, they committed their wealth, their resources, and their own troops to the faction they had chosen, making them critical allies. For this reason, Prince Phobos had tried to convince as many noble houses as possible to join his side by using his sister Elyon as a figurehead.

Susan also tried to convince them to join her, but with the bulk of the royal army behind her, she did not press them, fearing the nobles might take it as a signthat she might be the hidden tyrant Phobos claimed her to be. Of course, this had drawbacks in the form that they could not exercise certain political powers they would have in times of peace. Had they tried, then it could be seen as a form of support for the rebels by making demands of the Queen, yet not giving anything in return. It was this tradeoff that allowed the nobles to safely avoid using their resources in the war, unless when repelling rebel raiders in their own lands.

Now that the war was over though, they were quick to openly swear oaths of loyalty to the 'New Queen' since at the start of the war they could not acknowledge her authority, without said oath. This in return, was now allowing those whom had not supported Susan in the war, to regain the authority they had in the royal court. A limited authority of course, but still gave them the ability to be heard by the Queen in official meetings and enforce certain ancient traditions.

One of these traditions was what had caused many of the noble houses to gather at the Great Meeting Hall, a place where the houses would debate matters of state, before meeting with the Queen and presenting it to her with their views on whatever the topic is. In rare cases, such as the one the nobles were about to discuss, if enough of the gathered nobles agreed with the motion that was about to be presented to them then the Queen would have to abide by it. Such was the law.

The one to summon the great families of Meridian was Lady Adira Silvermane, an aging woman who had seen the end of the reign of both Queen Sade and Queen Weira, making her one of the oldest of nobles on this council. The elderly lady had dark grey hair, done up in a bun. Her skin was very white, but despite her age it was only mildly wrinkled, while her eyes were a grayish-blue, possessing a cold and strict quality. Her attire was that of a dark reddish-brown medieval gown, reflecting her high stature. She was very traditional woman and favored the style of rule of the two previous Queens, making her among the opposition to the current Queen's methods who tended to listen too much about what the people wanted, rather than just making decision based on her own choices...with a little insight from the nobles, of course.

Adira did not agree with the extremely unusual practices Queen Susan followed. Seeking the opinion of commoners was just one of the things she did that many of the nobles disliked, and part of the reason many noble houses did not side with her in the war even if they had believed she was the one telling the truth about Queen Weira's murder at Phobos' hand.

Other reasons were her habit of dressing so plainly by usual standards of rank. Choosing to marry 'Consort' Jaden who Queen Sade, Susan's own mother, had expressly forbidden and most importantly, Susan's clear lack of paying attention to the traditions that the royal family had followed for countless generations. Adira planned on putting an end to this before Queen Susaninstilled too many of these bad habits into Princess Wilhelmina's head who was clearly too much like her mother already.

'Who knows how much that backwater world called Earth might have tainted the girl as well. I clearly must act before the current royal line ruins our great kingdom forever,' Lady Adira thought bitterly while the rest of the nobles sat down, though there was clearly a few vacant spots at the lone table that was in the middle of the great hall's assembly chamber. A few nobles seemed to cast glances at these empty spots, noting they belonged to the few houses that had supported Queen Susan in the war, which would instantly make the other nobles suspicious at what this meeting was about.

Acting quickly to avoid being accused of anything, Lady Adira spoke to her fellow aristocrats, hoping to get them to support her plans on ensuring Meridian's future stability.

"My fellow lords and ladies, I am glad you could all meet me here on such short notice. I know several of our more…prominent members…but I felt more objective views would be needed for the crucial issues I was to bring before you today," Lady Adira explained calmly and seriously to those gathered at the long table. These words clearly caught the attention the council of nobles. She was not disloyal by any means, but still saw Susan as too much of a reformist to really agree with the changes were bound to come now that the war was over.

"The matter I refer to is about the Queen's current heir. One who as we all know, has her mother's followers backing her just as equally and I fear they might not notice the critical weaknesses of the princess until it's too late," Lady Adira explained in a grim tone, now making the other nobles now feel more concerned than curious, given the old nobles rarely spoke about the Queen in such a way, even when she did not approve their methods or habits.

"What weaknesses do you speak of Lady Adira? Most things many of us have noticed we assume is due to her having learned of her true identity only recently, which will only fade with time," One of the lords at the table asked, knowing Lady Adira would not be calling them here for this discussion unless she noticed something the other nobles had not.

"That is what I thought at first as well, but then I noticed inconsistencies in the princess' confidence, which had me being what I thought would a minor investigation into Princess Wilhelmina's past, only to find out she has had…issues…long before even becoming a Guardian or finding out her true heritage, as well as key events concerning her having been downplayed or kept hidden from us by the Queen herself," Lady Adira explained, causing the other lords to mummer amongst themselves for a moment, before looking to the aging Lady in hopes she would go into further detail.

"In my search to find out why the princess has such random levels of confidence are much more serious, she is prone to states of depression and has even runaway once because of it," Lady Adira continued to explain, but did not give the other nobles a chance ask question about that part.

Instead, the aged woman gestured for one of the guards in the hall to bring someone in before she spoke. "But I should start from the beginning before I go into those details. To provide this council with solid evidence of my investigation, I have brought witnesses to each of the events of note; the first being Lieutenant Tolag of her highnesses' royal army. He was present when Queen Susan made first contact with Princess Wilhelmina.

Upon saying this, the grayish and largely-built form of the race of people who commonly joined the army, entered the hall. The actual name of the race Tolag had belonged to had been forgotten, much like most of the races of Meridian over the years they joined together to create a single kingdom under the rule of the Queens. This was meant as a form of unification between the several humanoid beings that made up Meridian's people, from the humanoids (Caleb, Julian, Drake and most of the Royal Family) to the more 'monstrous' ones (Vathek). Only a handful of races still kept their racial name, those being the ones who lived outside of the Queens rule (most Beasts aka shape shifter) or the savage races (Lurdens).

Tolag moved to stand beside Lady Adira and began to explain what he knew about the Guardian Leader/Heir to the Throne.

"The first time I saw Princess Wilhelmina was when Sandpit brought her to the palace…" Tolag started, as memories of that day started coming to the forefront of his mind.

000

Flashback:

Lord Raythor had ordered Tolag and the other guards to prepare for the Keeper's arrival. He had Tolag and Sandpit positioned at the forefront of the formation with the other men behind; the soldiers wary of danger.

Tolag was one such guard and was gripping his spear tightly; unsure of what would happen once the Guardian arrived. Having heard tales of past Guardians,he imagined a female warrior of unshakeable confidence and incredible power. Of course, once he saw a cowering child to be the one brought, the previous image was shattered and he was silently praying this…thing…was not one of the legendary Guardians.

Tolag and his fellow guards watched Raythor and Sandpit lead the child away. Tolag wondered if the collective wisdom of Candracar has been lost to a curse of some kind, since this girl was clearly too weak to be suited for her role.

'It seems Meridian is on its own against Phobos if this is the best Candracar has to offer as saviors!' Tolag thought, as he marched off to return to his last post, all the while listening to his comrades make jokes at how timid the Keeper of the Heart was and praying the other Guardians were made of stronger stuff.

End of Flashback

000

"The princess seemed to lack the strength to be a leader or hold the position as Keeper. I admit to hearing stories of her exploitsin fending off the Guards, Lord Raythor, Sandpit and the Queen in the dungeons later that day, but her initial actions on arriving at the palace still make it hard **to **believe her anything more than a child," Tolag finished explaining, which got him a nod from Lady Adira when he was done.

The rest of the nobles seemed only mildly concerned at this news, since it was back when the princess was bound to have been new to her role as a Guardian. Of course, they knew this must just be the start of Lady Adira's report or she would not have bothered pointing out such a minor event.

After a few moments, a woman entered the hall, one of the servants that worked in the castle and among those who tended Will for the first few weeks before her identity as princess was revealed to everyone at the jousting tournament; the one that technically never officially happened, since the news of finding out their friend was Queen Susan's daughter, caused a fight to break out amongst the Guardians and leading to both the wielders of Water and Air to side with the royal family, while Princess and the Guardians of Earth and Fire remained with the rebellion.

"This is Karen. She discovered much about our princess' past by overhearing many of the minor conversations between the Queen and her daughter, before the Queen announced her true identity.She discovered some...disturbing things when overhearing a few of their conversationsfrom a distance," Lady Adira explained, before gesturing Karen to tell her story.

The servant woman looked nervous, but seemed to brace herself quickly and tell her tale, "Though no one specific event is of note to go into detail about, I did tales of the princess' past when the Queen managed to get her to speak of it. It seems the Vandoms…were rather brutal in their raising of Princess Wilhelmina. Though the physical scars have been removed by magic, I can easily see the mental ones that belong to a person who has had a slave-like lifestyle. The princess is clearly insecure about talking about what happened to her and has hinted she has nightmares of those days in the Vandoms' care. I might have heard more details and have better information, but once her identity was revealed, the Queen's personal attendants were given the task of assisting the princess, rather than those of us involved in doing various tasks of caring for the palace."

"Do you know the details of these nightmares? Also when did you hear these conversations? We know her highness Queen Susan would have been careful about revealing Princess Wilhelmina's identity before she was ready to accept the role. It's unlikely she would be careless enough to speak of it when there was a chance she could have been overheard by prying ears," one of the nobles finished saying to Karen as another spoke up.

"I think we would also like to know how a servant girl knows the signs of a person who has lived like a slave. They are rare in our kingdom after all, given many of the last generations of Queens have frowned on the practice," Another noble added, which the council as a whole seemed to agree on all the points asked of the servant, who had made the nobles start to see Lady Adira's concerns of this information was true.

"To answer the question about the nightmares and conversations, they mainly happened at night; when it was my turn out of the group of three to check in on the princess every so often to see if she needed anything. I would often hear the Queen comforting her daughter through the door, hearing things like how the Vandom couple would hang the child in a closet and whip her and other such punishments, which I assume were what the nightmares were about. With the Queen focused on the child, I escaped detection but the door filtered out enough words. I never heard enough to know about their true relationship until the rest of the kingdom did," Karen explained, as she answered the first lord's question while bracing herself for the second one.

"As for how I know what a former slave would act like…I was one when I was younger than even the princess is now, back when the mother of Queen Susan, Queen Sade, ruled over Meridian. Lord Balkan was one of the nobles at the time that secretly forced his servants into slavery and did so for many years until Queen Sade discovered it and freed us. I remember how many of us were very timid and quick to obey commands even when there was no danger of punishment. The princess showed signs of recovery, but would also relapse into a meek state when she was scared or depressed, another thing I myself took most of my life to overcome,"

The servant girl replied, making it clear in the eyes of the nobles, Karen was as close to an expert on slave habits as they were going to find.

The nobles clearly looked disgusted at the new of what the Vandoms had done to the Queen's only heir, but at the same time now were concerned for Meridian's future. If said heir would be prone to such moments of weakness when things grew difficult...

But as her fellow nobles started to get ready to voice their opinions on what they had heard so far, she made it a point to show that her evidence was not done just yet.

"My fellow ladies and lords, despite what you have heard so far, there is still much to tell so please bear with me a while longer before you ask any questions on how we should address this issue," Lady Adira requested, before calling in another witness.

This time, it was an old man, using a walking stick to slowly make his way to Lady Adira's side.

"This is one of the village leaders from the valley attacked by Lurdens several months ago. It was also where Queen Susan was placed under the control of the Horn of Hypnos. This man will explain what he witnessed the princess doing at the pivotal moment at the end of the battle against the Queen," Lady Adira explained, before motioning for the elder to speak.

"My lords and ladies, I hope you will pardon an old man for speak ill of her highness, Princess Wilhelmina, but her act of cowardice and unwillingness to go through with her duty was unacceptable," The Elder told the nobles before beginning his story.

000

Flashback:

The elder was watching the battle between the joint forces of Princess Wilhelmina, her bodyguard Caleb, her two friends (Irma and Hay Lin) and the rebels' best magic users (Taranee, Cornelia, Shagon, Ember, Tridart, Lynx and Elyon) against the Queen, who was under the control of the accursed Horn of Hypnos.

The eleven-on-one battle seemed to go on forever; the queen was an unstoppable juggernaut while under the horn's control, while the massive numbers against the Queen just seemed to not able to land a blow that would end the battle.

It was not difficult for the elder to surmise thatthe supporters of the Queen and the rebels were not out to kill their target, just halting her advance. It was a mistake in the old man's eyes.

'The princess must do what many a princess have needed to do in ancient times, put down a threat for the sake of Meridian,' The elder thought, while keeping his head down from all the magic attacks.

After several combined attacks, it's seemed the temporary allies had finally weakened the Queen enough to finish her barely standing body.

This was when he witnessed what he thought was an act of cowardice and neglect on the duties of a princess**.** He saw her bodyguard go into battle in the princess's place, while she just cried and screamed out for Caleb to stop.

It was only thanks a great deal of luck that the boy's father appeared and broke the horn's spell with a tune of some kind, but the old man knew that despite this, the current heir to the throne was unfit to have the titles of both princess and heir since she clearly put what she wanted ahead of the needs of the people this day.

End Flashback

000

"Many of my fellow villagers have shunned me and my wisdom ever since since I speak ill of our so-called princess. The spirits of our ancestors must feel ashamed of such a weak creature sharing their bloodline," The elder stated, as he finished his tale.

Many of the nobles had mixed feelings about the aging man's beliefs, given they might see it as huge a crime for an abused child to be able to carry out a princess' duty to stop a Queen who threatened the people, especially when said Queen had not truly turned on their world.

This duty a princess would normal carry out, was started long ago when an evil Queen ruled with an iron fist and her oldest child took it upon herself to steal the power of Meridian by force.

Upon stealing the power, she imprisoned her mother for the rest of her life in cell deep in the depths of the palace's underground dungeons, while her younger siblings were banished to the outskirts of Meridian after being stripped of their magic.

These siblings would later found the Shadow Mages years later, the ones who created the tablets Phobos used to give birth to the Knights of Destruction. They also were the ones to create and power Orgoth and died doing so before the powerful golem killed the one who had banished its creators form their home in the castle.

It was all this that created the tradition of an heir to be the one to keep a corrupt Queen in check and deal with said Queen as they saw fit.

Of course, the nobles still had to take into account because their princess could not do this, it meant the current safeguard against a corrupt rule was nonexistent...not that Queen Susan seemed like the corrupt type of course, but it was still a serious matter Princess Wilhelmina was not able carry out this duty in the off chance it was required of her.

"Thank you for sharing this tale with us elder, please join the others while we finish the rest of this meeting, "Lady Adira instructed the elder, who nodded and headed out the hall, while Lady Adira stood up and said she would tell the last piece of critical information about their princess and how she might not be fit to be the heir.

"There was no one person suited to explain the story of the princess' attempt to run away from our world, so I will relay all information I gathered from the various soldiers who were willing to explain what happened. For the other soldiers, I had to exercise certain powers invested in this council to have them not give the Queen forewarning until we made our decision here," Lady Adira explained, before she went on with her report.

"After the battle against her mother, Princess Wilhelmina gained control over the Light of Meridian and became the acting queen, while her mother recovered from her injuries. Following this, she and Caleb planned an assault in the rebel base in the Infinite City, leading her to do battle with Phobos in his counter attack, losing almost all of the Light while doing so. This caused one of her worse states of depression and she believed she must leave Meridian. The good news is she managed to find Consort Jaden by accident while doing this and thus both he and Queen Susan managed to get her to remain...but given all this evidence, is that for the best?" Lady Adira asked at the end of her report.

Her fellow nobles clearly looked disturbed by all this information since it clearly seemed Princess Wilhelmina might be unfit to one day rule their kingdom. She might serve better in a supportive role_, _but not as the true heir.

The only issue was what could they about the crisis?

"I assume you all can see we need to address this matter quickly or our next ruler might cause us have setbacks in our recovery from the war. In theory, Meridian should be completely stable by the time the princess succeeds her mother, but a weak ruler is never good for anyone. So I propose we exercise our right to call the Right of Succession Trials for Wilhelmina and have her prove us wrong. If she fails, we can move to test Princess Elyon as well, and thus place her on the throne in her cousin's place," Adira told her fellow nobles, who seemed shocked at this proclamation.

The Succession Trials were used by the very same tyrant queen that was overthrown by her own child. That particular Queen believed in having a strong heir, so made each of her children go through deadly trials to prove their strength, by making them do these deadly tests without their magic.

Since those days, the trials were still used but not in the same way. Queens only placed the most direct heirs in them and they were rarely as dangerous. In the event a ruler chose to not place their heir in the trials, the nobles had the right force them upon the future queen.

"So this is why you wished to leave out Queen Susan's supporters from this gathering. They would have certainly stopped us from exercising this plan for as long as they could and thus warn her highness and the princess. This would possibly give Princess Wilhelmina months to prepare or worse, Queen Susan could gather enough support from the people to force us to halt the trials," one noble stated coldly, knowing their current ruler was somewhat a reformist and had a bad history with the trials.

Queen Sade had always known her second daughter was a 'black sheep' and thus tried to rig the trial against Queen Susan. It was rare to test children past the initial heir, but not unheard of to do so if the ruler deemed it necessary. The trials were often tailored to each princess (or prince on the rare occasion) to test either weakness of the one being tested or affirm key skills a ruler might need was processed by said test.

Queen Susan's test though was aimed at making sure she failed, by putting her into an arena and having several guards attack in her one at a time. The plan backfired though when the dark haired woman proved to have better fighting skills and physical conditioning than was expected from a princess, and so Queen's Sade's plan failed from having too few men in place to drain away Susan's stamina and defeat her.

'She was not a true warrior, but hardly unskilled by many standards. We should be more cautious when it comes to testing her daughter in case her time as a Guardians and citizen of that backwater world called Earth might have taught her skills we might not have foreseen,' The same noble who had last spoken said, while Lady Adira once again addressed the council of nobles.

"That is exactly my reason in doing so. Now I put to the gathered council, should we go through with the trials or shall we risk letting a possibly unfit ruler to one day gain the throne?" The aging woman asked those before her, who all called out they agreed with proposal and thus, began plot to put their princess through a test that decide her future and push her to her physical and mental limits.

000

AN: And there is the first chapter folks, hope you will enjoy the story.


	2. Enforced Tradition

AN: Here is chapter 2, still a little slow but the action should start p in chapter 4.

Would like to thank Darev for beta reading this fic and as well thank him, fierce firework, yellow 14, FFHannibal, Philip Gipson, TTigerz for reviewing the first chappter.

Disclaimer: Do not own W.I.T.C.H.

000

Chapter 2: Enforced Tradition

It was a normal day at the palace; Susan was in the throne room taking in the daily reports with Jaden at her side, though still unable to be of much help until he grew more familiar with his role as Royal Consort.

It was one of the few things he and Will connected on, since both were still getting to know one another. The powerful warrior was somewhat imposing to the young girl, while Jaden was unsure of what could create a bridge between them. Both were new to the father-daughter concept, so while they did care for one another they just needed some time.

The only thing that really slowed down this connection was Jaden constantly watching Caleb like a hawk when near Will. This was to be expected, given even a 'new father' would want to protect his child. Of course, most fathers spent years learning to balance protection with freedom, but Jaden came back into Will's life just as she was starting to notice boys, thus causing some minor issues with _how to let_ Will and Caleb having a relationship without Jaden feeling he must skin the young man like most fathers do when their daughters started dating.

It probably did not help that Caleb had some bad history going against him in Jaden's eyes. Being the former rebel leader who led the charge against Queen Susan had Jaden also feel the need to go after the young man for trying to hurt his wife.

Despite all this, Jaden was not outright aggressive or spiteful, just being a bit over intimidating at times. He mainly tried to trick Caleb into the sparring at training times or let out a low growl when Will and Caleb were having a moment and forcing the young man to back off. Will was of limited help in controlling her father since she was scared to oppose him, after having a parent like Tony Vandom who often rewarded resistance with pain. This left Susan to be the only one who could rein the warrior shapeshifter in, given few other would dare challenge the royal consort.

Fortunately this was more than enough, given she had plenty of ways to keep Jaden busy without resorting to blasting her husband through a wall with her magic, such as helping her with her daily duties and thus letting Will and Caleb have a few hours of peace. The main distraction was to have him here in the throne room with Susan, while Will did her few duties and her studies, before going on with the rest of her day as she pleased, watched over by Caleb and her familiar Huggles/Khor.

Currently she had taken to do light training with the palace guard, though she had shown no talent for weapons. Susan assumed this was so Will could do something Caleb enjoyed and possibly find a way to connect with Jaden as well.

The dark-haired queen doubted Will's minor efforts would bear fruit, though she did notice the redhead had minor skill in hand-to-hand, a trait gained from when Will relied on her great enhanced Guardian strength, before she discovered her magic of being a member of the Meridian royal family.

'Sometimes I worry she tries to reclaim too much of her past life as a Guardian. It probably does not help Elyon accept the Oracle's offer to be the new Keeper of the Heart, though this was not yet public knowledge to the rest of Meridian yet,' she would think aloud at times.

There would be an uproar should it be knownthat a princess of Meridian is taking part in such dangerous training and possibly having any foes she battles target Meridian in retaliation. Nobles tended to be paranoid about such things and Susan did not wish for Elyon to have such distraction while mastering her new powers and learning her role as a member of the Guardians.

Susan knew Elyon was struggling in taming the powers of Quintessence when she was used to the generic and positive energy magic she was used, while at the same time having to go through complex sealing rituals to separate the two sets of magic and thus keep her from having too much more power than the other Guardians. Susan would normally just take Elyon's powers away, but the Oracle thought the young princess should have her old powers as a fall back option; an ace in the hole for the other Guardians to call on if things got difficult when on a mission.

It made tactical sense, so Susan agreed to leave Elyon's powers be and allowed Candracar to work out how to keep the balance of power between the five Guardians. It would help the girls in the long run to have a few tricks no one would expect them to have.

Susan was quickly drawn from theses thought as the sound of the two large doors to the throne room pushed open more aggressively than usual, making her look up to see Lady Adira push past her guards flanked by several other nobles.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jaden demanded, before Susan could make the same statement. No matter what their social status, no one had the right to simply barge into the throne room, unless it was an emergency. Somehow though, both Susan and Jaden doubted it was an emergency to anyone but the fools before them.

Lady Adira and her fellow nobles ignored Jaden though, and only spoke Susan directly; another insult to the pair given Jaden was the Royal Consort. "Your highness, we of the council of nobles have come to deliver our verdict in our last meeting and come to have you enforce it by the laws of our kingdom," Lady Adira stated with a term of authority, making Susan's face turn red with anger and Jaden's eyes went yellow and cat-like as he glared at the old woman.

"How dare you come in here and make such demands of me! As for you and your council, Lord Olsen has told me of no such meeting when I spoke with him yesterday, so how could one have been held and this so called 'verdict' be decided without him knowing?' Susan demanded while her eyes slowly starting glowing and an aura of white energy began to surround her body. She was making sure this woman remembered to whom she was speaking too.

Lady Adira stood unwavering at this sight, though some of her supporters seemed shaken. The aged woman had no intention of being intimated by the queen and began laying down her demands.

"Lord Olsen and your other supporters would have done just that, allowing you to possibly interfere with our right to invoke the trials upon the princess," Lady Adira stated with a tone of authority, which changed Susan's glowing eyes and aura to one of pure fire to represent her growing rage, while Jaden was quickly starting to change shape to his weretiger form.

"YOU'RE DOING WHAT?" Both parent roared in furry, not knowing drawing their rage was what lady Adira had wanted. She needed to stall the pair while another group of nobles moved in on Will herself.

000

In the training yard, both Caleb and Raythor were helping Will learn to kick on a training post using a roundhouse kick, while Will's familiar Huggles watched from the sidelines in a nearby tree. Both were hoping the training would solidify the young princess' confidence, rather than making her a full fledge warrior.

Being true warriors, Raythor and Caleb knew the disciple gained from the training would help Will more than any degree of fighting skill, which she had shown having only a minor talent in the art of hand-to-hand combat.

It was also easier than teaching her to use weapons like swords. Caleb had tried to teach her that at the start of these daily lessons, but Will lacked the strength to use a full size longsword like the ones Caleb and Raythor used. This made the pair focus on training Will's body which would also allowed her to handle the strain of using her magic at full power more easily, an issue Will still had at times.

"Switch legs, Will, and try another 30, higher this time!" Caleb instructed while Raythor's keen eye watched his princess' form. Both he and Caleb noted Will did not favor her right or left side, thus gave the redhead some minor flexibility in combat options but it also meant they had to make sure she did not get into the habit of using one side too much.

"You guys are slave drivers!" Will joked while switching her stance and starting the next series of kicks. Sadly they would not get a chance to finish as a group of five nobles entered the training yard and headed for the trio.

Huggles jumped down from his place in the tree and stood by its mistress' side. His fur was slightly on end, but was unnoticed by Will, who was going to greet the nobles.

"My lords and ladies, what brings here to the training yard?" Will asked politely, not knowing the danger she was in from this group, who were wearing fake smiles on their faces. They wanted to lure Will into their trap.

"We came to give you something, your highness.We were among the few who did not attend your birthday celebration and so we wanted to give you this as an apology present," The lead noble explained, this one was a man of the same age as Will's father by the name of Vulkron.

His hair was jet-black, shoulder length, and he had ice-blue eyes. His build was hidden by his dark blue robes, but those who knew of Vulkron were aware of him as a powerful warrior and was probably the same build as Shagon or Caleb in his Earth Guardian form. Lord Vulkron was a man who gained full noble status during the civil war, gaining the favor of his wife and her family when aiding in repelling a rebel attack on their lands. Despite gaining noble status by marriage, he had belief in the traditions of Meridian and did not like what he was seeing if the girl before him was to take the throne, assuming she survived the trials.

The girl before him had absurdly short hair and dressed in ridiculously strange clothes. The princess was dressed in a pair of baggy cloth pants (sweatpants) that were grey in color and a (in his personal view) a tight grey shirt with barely any sleeves (a t-shirt) and the strangest pair of white shoes he had ever seen (runners).

'Does she think she is a boy or did the Vandoms rattle her pint size brain of her in those beatings?' Lord Vulkron mentally growled, but made sure to keep his feelings hidden until the child before him fell into the trap the nobles planned for her.

Will, being unaware of the danger, just kept smiling as she shook and replied, "There is no need for that, my lord. I know some nobles were hesitant to appear at the part out concern of showing support for my mother in the war."

'She is so stupid and naïve; it makes me sick. I will enjoy watching this,' the warrior lord thought, while removing a clear crystal sphere from his robes and held it in one hand, while the other gently took one of Will's.

"Nonsense! All of us on the council of nobles want you to have this!" Vulkron stated and was placing the crystal in her hand, when Huggles let out a very loud hiss. The small dormouse jumped into the air and started to change into Khor, but one of the other nobles took out his rod with a similar crystal sphere on it, but this one dark green in color on one end and dark blue one on the other.

The noble used this rod's green crystal to fire a fiery bolt of green energy that blasted the still transforming familiar away from the group and render it unconscious. Will tried to run to her furry protector's side, but Lord Vulkron's grip on her hand become firmer as he forced the crystal into Will's hand.

"What are you...aaaahhhh!" Will started to demand from the lord, when she was suddenly overcome with an agonizing pain throughout her whole body. The crystal in her hand had also started glowing around this time and was slowly taking on a pink glow as Will screamed out in pain.

"Will!" "Princess!" Caleb and Raythor roared out in a furry at seeing all this and charged in to save the redhead, but a third noble stepped in to halt their advance. This one was also wielding a rod with two crystal spheres on either end, but this one's were blood red and pure white.

The pure white crystal starting glowing and the two warriors suddenly just froze in place, as if restrained by an invisible force.

Meanwhile, Will was now on the ground but still clutching the strange crystal that gained a stronger and stronger pink glow as the young girl curled up in the fetal position. She felt like something was being torn out of her and had tried to let go of the sphere, but it was like her hand was glued to the surface of the crystal.

"What are you doing to her? How dare you attack your own princess like this?" Caleb roared out, as he tried to make his body move but he seemed unable to fight the effect of the mystic forces the nobles were wielding. He silently swore he would kill these people slowly when he got free from their spell.

"Be silent, boy! This is the will of the council of nobles. We are insuring the prosperity of our world with this act of purging such weakness from the line of succession," Lord Vulkron ordered Caleb, but grew amused when he saw the expression Raythor's face. Vulkron could easily guess the captain of the guard had realized what the nobles were doing and that there was nothing he and Caleb could do to stop them.

"The…Succession Trials…but why?" Raythor whispered, but was still loud enough for Caleb to hear and realize what was going on and just how powerless he was right now. All the two could do was watch as nobles had their way with Will.

Will's suffering felt like an eternity, despite really only lasting for a few minutes. The crystal finally stopped glowing and now was just a solid pink color which Vulkron scooped up and giving Will a wicked smile, not that she could see with eyes filled with tears of pain.

"Thanks, your highness. I'll be sure to take care of this until your trials are over…assuming you have the strength and wits to pass without the aid of your magic," Vulkron said to Will in a mocking tone, before hiding his prize inside his robes.

The arrogant man was about to tell his fellow nobles they could leave now, but were halted by a terrifying roar and turned to see one of the most dreaded things in all of Meridian charging towards them. A transformed Jaden. In a berserk rage!

The nobles armed with the rods were about use the powers inside the magic items to repel the charging shape shifter, but they were ripped from their wielders' grasps and flew to the hands of another force to be feared, Queen Susan who had teleported behind the nobles while they had focused on Jaden.

This gave Jaden time to leap forward and grab Lord Vulkron by the throat and lifts him into the air with one hand and the second held out, as if expecting the man to hands him something.

"If you value your life you will give me that crystal. If you don't I will take great pleasure in snapping your neck like a twig," Jaden growled out, his claw-like hand squeezing harder to prove his point. He was hoping, praying Lord Vulkron would try to resist, he wanted kill at least one noble today after what they had done.

Susan meanwhile used the rods she had taken to free Caleb and Raythor and then toss said rods to them. "You two keep hold of those for now and get the other four of these…nobles…out of my sight. I take care of Will," Susan instructed her captain of the guard and her daughter's bodyguard, both of which did as they were told, but Caleb clearly wanted to remain by Will's side.

Susan then walked over to her daughter, who was still curled up in a ball on the ground crying in pain. Susan knew from past experience the crystals used in removing and heir's magic would leave her child in this state for some time. It was a fate she had been hoping to spare Will from experiencing but Lady Adira had clearly stalled both her and Jaden long enough for the other nobles to carry out their plan.

The Queen of Meridian knelt down and gently pulled her daughter onto her lap, making the redhead weakly embrace her mother. Will knew now that her mother and father were here, she would be safe and whatever was going on would be explained and sorted out. It was unlikely Will would continue to feel this way once she got the explanation she wanted. But at the moment the people who could do this sought to give Will this comfort until she at least recovered from the crystal's effects.

"How dare you do this? You know are not permitted interfere with our preparations for the trials!" the all too familiar voice of Lady Adira shrieked out, making both Susan and Jaden looked over from their respective locations to see said woman marching into the training yard, and clearly not happy.

'I swear once this over and free to do as I please again, I plan on making sure she never forgets who the ruler of this world is,' Susan thought bitterly, while stroking Will's hair in a comforting manner.

At the moment Susan was just glad the over traditional woman was currently putting most of her focus on Jaden, allowing the queen to telatransport Will to a place she would be safe, given the nobles would be swarming the palace for the next few days. Given the preparations Will would need to make for the Succession Trials, Susan knew her daughter would need a place where she could focus in peace without the wrong type of people looking over her shoulder.

This drew Lady Adira's attention for a moment from trying to get Jaden to release Lord Vulkron. She knew Queen Susan was probably trying to help her daughter in some way, a forbidden tactic depending on what this aid is, but for the moment Lady Adira knew keeping the crystal from Consort Jaden had to take priority.

"Release him at once, you savage! I'll see you locked away in Cavigor for interfering in Meridian law!" Lady Adira commanded, a mistake given Jaden was already in a bad mood and now turned his furious gaze towards the foolish woman.

"First you distract me and my wife while you send another group after my daughter, you brutally strip her of her powers and birthright and now you dare to insult and threaten me? You have given my wife more than enough ground to counter any charges you might try to use against me," Jaden growled out and clearly made Lady Adira back away in fear, neither noticing Lord

Vulkron removing the crystal that held Will's magic.

The lord used the stolen power to blast Jaden with Quintessence lightning at point blank range. The force of the blast combined with Jaden being caught completely off guard made the mighty warrior drop Lord Vulkron and revert back to his human form while falling to his knees.

Lord Vulkron coughed and wheezed harshly now that he could breathe again. As lady Adira helped him up, both looked at Jaden and were unsure what do about hm. Both wanted to punish him for interfering with the council duties but knew the shape shifter was right, there was enough possible loopholes to get Jaden acquitted of any charges.

"I assume we should gather our fellow nobles and begin preparations for the trials? Trying to deal with the Consort would probably end in failure, but we can at least make sure our real objective is carried out," Lord Vulkron asked, once his voice retuned from nearly getting strangled to death by the royal consort.

"It would be the wisest course of action at this time. We should also see if we can find out where the Queen as has taken Princess Wilhelmina, just to be sure the rules of the trials are not being violated. The last thing we need is for an unworthy heir to pass the tests due to lack of carelessness on our part," Lady Adira replied before both walked out of the training yard, leaving Jaden behind.

Jaden wanted to make the pair of fools suffer for what they said about his daughter, but knew he was too weak to do so. He also knew someone else needed his aid more right now, mainly a certain familiar who was still lying motionless on the ground.

The tiny creature's fur seemed greener then it should, making Jaden worry the magic used on his daughter's familiar had done something to it.

'If they caused any permanent harm to that creature, I will make those backstabbing fools pay dearly,' Jaden thought bitterly as he slowly made his way to Huggles' side. The mighty warrior planned on making sure his daughter's magical protector was well looked after until the time he could return the small creature to her.

000

Meanwhile, Susan was appearing inside the former home of the Mage/Nerissa. She thought this would be a good place for Will to rest and prepare the challenges to come, without fear of further interference from those among the noble families who had planned this attack on Will.

Susan placed Will in the bed in the far side of the room, knowing sleep was the priority right now. As Susan tucked her daughter under the covers, she noticed the exhaustion of the draining of Will's powers had finally overcome the pain of the experience. The redhead's breathing had become much deeper and relaxed, making the queen smile sadly.

'At least she can have some peace for the moment, but I better get back to the palace and gather Will's things and hope I can be back before she wakes up. Tradition normally has the nobles confiscate the belonging to the one entering the trials but I should be able to at least return Will's Earth clothes. Also should give her a few things she will need to help her prepare for the tests to come. I don't care if I'm supposed remain neutral for the duration of the Succession Trials, traditionally the nobles don't take the powers of the princess or prince without the current ruler present to make sure the process is safely done; not stolen in secret without the potential heir knowing what is happening!' Susan thought bitterly, before giving Will one last look to head back to the palace in a flash of light.

000

Back at in the castle, Lady Adira and Lord Vulkron were finishing the process of freeing their fellow nobles from Raythor and Caleb's custody. Both of them were less than thrilled at not being able to throw the four into a cell, but since the nobles had increased authority from the invoking the trials, there was nothing they could do.

The nobles even reclaimed the two magic rods the Queen had taken from them, something normally illegal for anyone to have under the current laws governing magic on Meridian. Theses rods were not seen as this though because their role was for specifically meant for making sure a Queen could not easily stop the trials from taking place using the Light of Meridian, thus evening the playing field, so to speak, for the council of nobles.

Of course the rods could not match the Light of Meridian, even if their powers were combined. They just made it clear they were exercising certain rights and if need be the rods could hold the ruler off. This may not seem like much help, but if the ruler kept resisting the council of nobles, the ruler could seem like she did not believe her heir was able to handle the trials. Not that there were many cases of heavy resistance, but the queens of the past thought arming the nobles for just such a possibility, without giving them the level of power to be a threat.

"I fail to see why you think the princess needs to be tested, Lady Adira. Rest assured though, I will take great pleasure in watching whatever you have in mind fail miserably against Princess Wilhelmina's abilities," Raythor stated firmly, making it clear how much he despised the group before him.

"Watch your tone, 'captain', you should show Lady Adira the respect she deserves for looking out for our world's best interest!" One of Raythor's former prisoners ordered; only making Raythor glare at the smart-mouthed noble.

Caleb meanwhile was getting close to his breaking point. The constant disrespect towards Will was making the former rebel leader want to call on the powers of the Earth Pendant to take revenge. The only thing stopping him was it might give the nobles more grounds to exercise their increased political authority.

Fortunately Lady Adira was a help for a change by defusing the situation. She turned to the one who spoke and stated, "Cease provoking the captain and let's rejoin the others. They should be done seizing the princess' belongings by now, so we should now begin preparation for the actual trial…which means I'll be back to see you later, Raythor."

With that Lady Adira and the other nobles walked away, leaving a very worried Raythor and Caleb behind. The comment Lady Adira made to Raythor could imply anything when it came to trials. They could plan to have her to take part in a warrior gauntlet like was done for Susan or some other kind of obstacle that came to mind for those planning Will's test.

'Whatever they have in mind, I will not be a part of it if I have any say in the matter!' Raythor mentally swore, though he had little hope of stopping the nobles with their authority able override even the Queen's commands at this time.

000

Meanwhile, Susan had appeared in Will's room and quickly gathered only the items that Will took from Earth. Everything else that Will gained after becoming princess had to be left for the nobles to take, mainly because it was meant as a way to prevent the one undergoing the trials to not have a secret weapon to aid in the tests, like mystic objects to provide magical aid or clothing that could have been enhanced to act like armor or provide ways to hide by invisibly or illusions.

The only item Susan took that was even close to this nature was Will's golden circlet, but not to give to Will. Susan just simply refused allow those people to strip Will of the last thing that marked her as a member of the royal family. She also planned being sure to have it ready to return to Will the moment the redhead passed the trials and put the nobles in their place.

Just as Susan finished gathering what she was after, she heard the door opening behind her. The ruler quickly left the same way she came, making her escape detection from the nobles entering the room.

They were surprised to find so little to take when it came to belongings. New perfumes, jewelry or fancy clothes, just the robes and single dress they had seen the princess wear and few simple things like items for personal grooming or books (some of which were from Earth and the nobles could not figure out what they were about).

They were surprised to find no clothing that might have been from Earth or most importantly, the circlet the princess wore when doing her duties. It was an important item; given it was their princess's symbol of her status and something they would have to destroy should she fail the tests.

"Could it have been stolen? Several Passlings have been seen to come and go in the palace, so maybe one took it?" One noble suggested, as the other three kept looking for the object. None of them would ever suspect Queen Susan being behind the circlet's disappearance until it was safely hidden away and unable to prove what she had done.

000

Speaking of the Queen, she was appearing in her private chambers with what she had gathered from her daughter's room. Susan quickly went over to one of the wall and touched it with a glowing white hand, which caused a large arcane mark to appear where she touched.

Shortly afterwards, the mark's glowing light changed into a swirling vortex much like the portals that formed when the Veil was still up. This was Susan's doorway to a special room she would hide Will's circlet and also retrieve the last of the items she needed to bring to Will.

The secret room was 20 feet by 20 feet in size and was entirely of stone in both the wall and floors. There were no windows and the only way in was the swirling vortex, making it the best place for Susan to hide valuables.

The only things in this room were several heavy metal chests with large iron locks. The strange thing about the locks was that they had no keyholes, which were the last line of defense should anyone somehow get into the room, since these locks were made for someone who could use the earth element to make the locks open.

Using that very power, Susan opened the chest closest to her and placed Will's circlet inside. At the same time she took out two objects wrapped in cloth and a third item in a small purple pouch. These items were not much, but Susan hoped they would be of use to Will in preparing for the challenges ahead.

000

A few hours later, Will finally began to stir from her rest and her eyes slowly opened to see she was in a different room then her own and that her mother, friends and Caleb, were present. Will had yet to remember what had happened, so was more confused when said friends practically dog-piled on and called it a 'hug'.

"Thank goodness you're alright, Will! We heard what happened and we almost started a war on those nobles for what they did!" Elyon exclaimed, feeling responsible for this since from what her aunt told them the nobles wanted to place her on the throne if Will failed the trials.

'If they did not have me to force on Aunt Susan as an heir, then maybe they would not have done this!' Elyon screamed in her mind, wanting to march over to the palace and use all her lessons in the Quintessence Element on them. She did not inherit Will's super strength for some reason, but she did gain the powers the Keeper of the Heart possessed and had been doing constant lessons in their use.

Will, meanwhile, was trying to figure out what her cousin was talking about, until she finally recalled what happened earlier that day. She now knew she needed find out what was going on and what that crystal did to her.

Will looked over to her mother and asked, "Mom…could you explain what is going on? What did the nobles do to me? I feel…weird and drained."

Susan looked at her daughter with a sad expression on her face, knowing she had to tell Will but at the same wishing that these questions had not come. The dark-haired woman just had to hope Will could handle the news better than her friends did…Susan did not know if she could stop said friends from actually getting violent toward certain people if Will got upset.

"Will…the nobles have chosen to invoke a law on Meridian that lets them force you to take the Right of Succession Trials. It's a test to prove you have the right to be my heir and must be done without any of your magic or the aid of anyone when the trials begin," Susan explained, though she knew once went in some other details was when things might get ugly…not that the first bit of news was all that great.

Will was shocked at hearing this, thinking Lord Olsen was behind this as well or possibly his grandson, Matt. Was the young man still feeling vindictive for her choosing Caleb and convinced his grandfather to push this or did she do something to anger the head of the Olsen family in some way?

Will was still new to Meridian politics, thus did not know her mother only had true support from twelve nobles and the head of what was called 'The Alliance', a group of lesser nobles who choose one member to represent them as a whole on the Council of Nobles. This gave her only thirteen supporters out a total of thirty-nine different major houses and thus the other twenty-six had pushed for the trials to take place.

It also did not help these thirteen had not been present to hear Lady Adira put forth the motion and thus were not able to counter argue her claims and hopefully win over some of the ones who would have remained neutral at the time. This was a fact Susan and her supporters had argued just hours ago about, but the group of twenty-six refused to allow any form of re-voting or compromises. This only proved how charismatic Lady Adira could be, since even usually reasonable nobles stood fast against the queen and her supporters' attempts to stop the trials.

"To make it worse is what they want to do you if you fail the test!" Irma spat out in anger, making Susan want to kill the Water Guardian for spilling that bit of information. The ruler of Meridian was hoping Will might not ask about that and worry herself about that sort of thing, but Irma prevented that.

The rest of the girls and Caleb though did not think that way, since anger clouded their judgment and not realize keeping that a secret would have helped Will. They were too focused on thought of revenge to think that clearly.

"W-W-What is Irma talking about, mom?" Will asked, her voice trembling at the thought of what could be the punishment for failing. Some ideas the redhead seemed obvious if it's called 'the Right of Succession' but from the level of everyone's anger, Will was worried there might be more to it.

Susan took a deep breath, a mix of preparing to say what needed to be said and to calm her desire to light the Water Guardian on fire. After few moments Susan finally answered, "There are…several consequences if you fail, Will. The obvious one is you are stripped of your status of being a princess and heir. Another is you will be never allowed to regain the magic they took from you and I can't give you new magic to replace your lost power. Those are the usual punishments; another one is to be…exiled from all the lands under the ruler of the Queen of Meridian until Elyon's reign is solidified."

"But…but why am I to be exiled?" Will asked, tears flowing to her eyes that the thought of not being able to be with her true family after regaining them. It was not fair! It would be several years before Elyon could take over for Susan and who know what would be considered to be solidified in the noble' eyes.

Seeing this had Susan gently push past Will's friends and sit next to Will in the bed, pull the child in a gentle hug. After a moment of soothing her daughter, Susan finally answered her daughter second question, "My guess is that it's to ensure you can't find ways to challenge Elyon's rule while it's still young and maybe gain enough support from the people to override their judgment, it has been known to happen for a failed heir to become more able than the one who does inherit the throne…some times by intent rather than accident. Given we just ended a civil war, some of the more paranoid nobles might be seeking avoid another one by making sure the people back Elyon before allowing you to come home."

Will looked like she was about to break down and cry, but Caleb put a stop to this. "Well, it just means we have to work hard to make sure you do pass! You might not be allowed magic for the trials, but anything else is permitted!" Caleb stated with complete confidence, knowing Will had great instincts in a difficult situation; this was proven when Will was still a Guardian and several times during the war fighting by her mother's side.

Will looked up at her boyfriend in shock. She was not expecting anyone to believe in her against such odds. What happened next would only add to this shock as Taranee spoke up.

"If anything besides magic is allowed, than maybe we can help Will prepare some tricks the nobles won't be expecting," The Fire Guardian stated with a broad smile, which was followed by the other girls.

"I was hoping you all of you would feel that way, which is why I brought these for Will, since neither I nor Elyon can directly help Will get around. We both sadly need to keep a level of neutrality even before the trials begin," Susan commented, while making the items she retrieved from her hidden chamber float over to Will and her location on the bed.

Will opened the pouch first; finding a small ring, the one the Mage/Nerissa used to wear until Susan took care of her after the war was over. It was still a closely kept secret by Susan and Jaden, so no knew the ring had once been hers.

"That ring will allow you to open folds, but once the trials begin you will need to give the ring back to me. The other two items though will be of help during the trials, if you pay close attention to Caleb that is," Susan explained, making Will confused and begin unwrap the cloth from the other items and figure out what her mother meant.

She found a short sword and dagger, neither looked impressive to Will's untrained eye, but Caleb knew the two weapons were of the best quality materials and an expert smith had mostly likely forged the items.

"Those served me well in my trial, Will, I'm sure they will do the same for you if Caleb can teach you how to use them properly," Susan explained to her daughter. The older woman gave the young man a glance, who nodded his head that he would do the best he could to teach Will.

With that, Susan told Elyon they should leave and let the group just to be safe in regards to the demand they be neutral. This would also let them be surprised by the tactics the group came up for Will to use in the challenges ahead.

As they left the room, Susan paused as they reach the top of the steps that would normally lead down into the Mage's former home, she sensed something, but Elyon broke her out of that trail of thought by asking, "What's wrong, Aunt Susan?"

"Nothing, Elyon. You should go home and tell your parents what is going on. If the worse happens, they should be ready to return to Meridian," Susan instructed her niece, who nodded and used the Heart to fold home and leave the dark-haired woman to herself...or so the child thought.

Once alone, Susan spoke out to no one in particular, "And what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Someone needs to watch over and protect the child, you clearly cannot," A female voice spoke out from somewhere in the shadows of the Infinite City. The echoes further hid where the speaker was hiding and said person was showing no signs of revealing herself to the Queen.

"Don't you dare judge me, you hag! You never helped either of us during the war so you have no right to lecture me on being able to protect her," Susan growled out before marching off towards the closest passage to the surface.

"If anyone else spoke to me that way, I would have killed them on the spot. Be glad your husband prevents that witch," the female voiced shot back, before silence once again claimed the hidden underground city.

000

AN: And there we go, will try to have the next chapter out soon.


	3. The Trials Begin

AN: Here is a chapter 3, hoping you will all enjoy it though it's is a little short compared to my usual updates (mostly a set up chapter rather than main chapter)

Would like to thank Darev for once again beta reading this story, plus like to thank him, TTigerz Yellow 14 and Philip fir reviewing the previous chapter

000

Chapter 3: The Trials Begin

The next day Will used the ring she got from her mother to head to Earth with her friends. Caleb remained behind to gather what he needed to train Will in the use of her shortsword and dagger, which also gifts from her mother to aid her in the trials.

Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin had others way to help their friend. They could arm Will with Earth technology, something the nobles would not be able prepare for unless they did a lot a research into world the Guardians came from, which was unlikely.

Of course there were two things that limited the girls in doing much. The first was money, since even combined the girls' allowances would be limited. The second was they could not get anything that would slow Will down too much. They did not know what kind of tests would be given,but wanted Will to be prepared without weighing her down with too much equipment.

The first thing the group needed to get was clothing that was able to handle heavy activity, but at the same time hopefully grant another useful advantage, camouflage. Though the nobles would not be revealing the specific tests, Susan had told the girls while Will was sleeping that the basic test called 'The Gauntlet'.

This form of testing was often had several small tests along a course, either held in a labyrinth or in the wilderness. The real goal was to overcome the small tests, but the journey between each test was to drain the heir being tested of some of their mental and physical stamina, thus putting pressure for the heir when the actual test started.

Given these two possible options, the group chose to choose clothing that might help in the wilderness. Even if a form of labyrinth was used instead, at least they were ready for an outdoor challenge that might serve to Will's advantage with the right clothing choices.

Meridian was mostly known for its forests when it came to wilderness, so greens, browns, greys, and blacks were the colors to focus on. Bright and non-natural colors would only attract attention to the redhead.

It took several tries to find something right for Will, but the group eventually found an outfit that would work. It was pair of baggy pants in military camouflage colors of green and brown meshed together, with a match long t-shirt and bandana to hide her bright red hair.

To complete the outfit was a pair of black hiking boots and a pair of fingerless gloves, to handle the potentially rough terrain. The gloves would also help Will keep her grip on her weapons or any other item she might be holding at the time.

As an extra precaution Will grabbed a pair of black biker short and tank top that matched the camouflage style of her pants and t-short. She wanted have a backup set of clothes. She could not get the same outfit twice do to not wanting to get something that would weight too much combined with the other items she got today.

After finding the right clothes for Will, the team of five went about looking items that could help boost Will's odds. The first thing they chose was to buy charcoal Will could smother on her arms and face for both bug repellent and add a little more to her ability to camouflage. The next thing though confused Will when Irma brought the items to her.

"Why would I need four pairs of walkie-talkies and whatever those other things are?' Will asked as Irma came carrying towards her. The redhead did not know the several round objects and five canisters the Water Guardians were smoke bombs. The smaller ones were normally for pranks while the canisters were the version used in paintball matches.

"These are for distractions**," **Irma said, motioning toward the canisters, "smoke bombs are for to provide cover while the walkie-talkies are for making people thinkyou are in one place, while you are really somewhere else," Irma explained, indicating she had some experience with this before.

'This is what I get for having a prankster for a friend," Will mentally joked, though she could definitely see the logic in these ideas, having a smokescreen to blind any threats or lure targets to where she wanted them.Chances are most people in Meridian didn't even know such things existed.

The next thing the group looked for was ways for Will to carry her load of supplies, grabbing both a small backpack and belt designed hang things like her weapons, a water canteen and a pouch her smaller smoke bombs.

A water canteen, predator repellent (a strong smelling spray hard for both humans and animals to stand), binoculars and a hatchet were among the various tools Will got. Food bars were also bought so Will had a food source, since it was unsure if there might be food provided at possible 'rest points' in the gauntlet test. The nobles decided that and so sometimes they left the potential heir to themselves when it came to that matter.

Though the group tried think of other items Will could use, they did not want to risk giving her too much of load if time happened to be a factor in in the redhead's challenge. This meant they needed to avoid getting anymore items, especially if Caleb came up with ideas that might also be of help.

000

Back on Meridian, Raythor was furious that Lady Adira who had just gave him the news he and several troops had been chosen to be part of Will's trials. He heard rumors of several other prominent members of royal army to be pitted against their princess.

To make matters worse, he was currently being forced take Lady Adira to Cavigor. The nobles apparently selected some of the prisoner from there to also be part of the challenge. He did not know who Lady Adira was after, but anyone who was sentenced to Cavigor was never your run of the mill criminal.

Because Cavigor was virtually impossible to escape from, Queen Susan used it for only the most dangerous criminal like murders who had taken countless lives, the worse of the rebel warriors who proved too violent to release yet and the insane were the main occupants of Cavigor.

As Raythor, Lady Adira and the guards that had accompanied went down the rope elevator, the captain of the guard kept trying to figure out who the nobles wanted from the place. Such people were highly dangerous, so what test could the Council of Nobles have planned?

"Never thought I would see the inside this place. I admit the plan I was a little against this plan, but, Lord Vulkron made reasonable argument for this test idea. It's a challenge our princess needs to face and hopefully will be able to at least overcome test, if not pass it," Lady Adira spoke aloud, as if answering Raythor's unasked question.

'A test that can but overcome but necessarily passed? Though such tests can happen in a Gauntlet Challenge, Lady Adira and her followers seem to think this an almost guaranteed fail, even if Will 'won',' Raythor wondered in his mind, starting to wonder even more what person or persons the woman sought.

Raythor's curiosity kept growing as they travelled further downward through Cavigor, through the various stairwells after getting of the rope elevator. It was a preferred to keep the least dangerous at the higher level, while the greatest threats were kept further down. It frightened the warrior to think the ones they sought were so deep in Cavigor.

It was three-fourths down the total depths of the inescapable prison by the time the group reached the cell they wanted, which was opened by Cavigor's warden. As the cell opened, the shadows hid the faces of two prisoners but Raythor knew he would rather leave the 'people' here if had the authority to make that decision.

"We require your assistance. Should the both of you do so and not be too extreme in your methods I can guarantee you a pardon from the queen and considerable amount of gold to start a new life anywhere on Meridian," Lady Adira explained as she entered the cell, flanked by three of her bodyguards.

After a moment of silence and the pair looking at each other, the taller one asked, "What do you need us to do?"

The voice was one was one Raythor knew all too well and how they might cause Will to fail any test, even if she should overcome them. The nobles must be mad to use these people in her tests! They would never restrain themselves against her, even with a pardon and gold used to tempt them to do so.

'Princess…way you forgive me for being powerless to stop this from happening,' Raythor thought in bitter dismay, as Lady Adira explain what was required of her two 'recruits'.

000

Back in in the Mage's home one the Infinite City, Will and her friends had returned from their shopping trip, finding Caleb waiting for them upon arrival. He looked worried, yet relieved at the same time making Will think something must have happened while they were gone.

"You five have good timing, I have news about the trials and it is not very good. They have chosen when the trials will be held…we have only one week to get ready," Caleb told the group, who grew pale at hearing this.

"How is Will supposed to be ready in one week?: Cornelia screamed out in a rage, being the first to voice the anger Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin were feeling at the moment., while Will was struggling to keep from panicking. With so little time to get ready, it felt the nobles were trying to stack the deck against the redhead. It did not help matters that I.T.C.H. was unable to help Will in her training since they were not trained warriors like Caleb was.

"Given it was the best Lord Olsen and the queen's other supporters could get, we will have to hope the training Raythor and gave her over the last few months and the techniques I teach her this week will be enough," Caleb explained as calmly as he could, hoping to give Will a source of strength to aid her attempt calm herself.

I.T.C.H. reluctantly settled down upon hearing this, while Will still looked uneasy, but had to accept one thing the former rebel said. She had some training already her disposal and a week to learn a little more, it might not be much but it was all they were going to get and it would have to be enough.

"Let's get started then, Caleb," Will told her boyfriend, who nodded his head and gestured Will to follow him up the stairs to the open area of the Infinite City.

Once there it was shown Caleb tied large amounts of rope around a nearby pillar that held of the ancient city's roof up, making it seem he was using it as a makeshift training post. There was also simple training dummy for weapons training, most likely for the dagger and shortsword. It was not on the same level of quality and the on the castle grounds, but Caleb's experience in the rebellion gave him the knowledge to still make a decent training ground with easy to gain materials.

Caleb picked up two wooden weapons around the same size as the two weapons Will would be using in one week's time. He showed Will several stances and movements using them at the same time, as well as how to use each separately.

The moves were mainly how to block or deflect attacks, with a few offensive moves thrown and a precaution. Caleb knew Will was no killer, so a focusing mainly on the most basic and effective defensive moves that would be most helpful. It also gave Will higher odds of getting the hang of the moves enough to use them which would critical to achieve in such a small timeframe to do it in.

.I.T.C.H. mainly watched from the sidelines, while trying to come with new way to help their friend. Sadly there was little they could think of, there was just too little they knew about various things about Meridian or close combat. They were magic users who focused on range and area attacks, Will had been the only one who needed to get up close and personal with her opponent back in the days she was on the team and the Keeper of the Heart.

All they could really do was watch as Caleb drilled Will for hours, making sure the redhead learned every part of the motions he showed her. Caleb seemed very strict and even sounded harsh at times, but Will never seemed mind because she knew these skills could make all the difference in the days to come.

000

Deep in the depths of Meridian's forests, there was a village of more simple than those of most others throughout the world. There was less use of stone and wood planks and were closer to those made of dirt and sticks, indicating these people preferred an even simpler life style then those of other citizens of this world.

Clothing wise, some was made of the same cloths other villagers used, but furs and leather seemed the dominant source of material. The leather was mainly for belts, boots and armor, while animal skins were used the actual clothing material.

In one of the huts sat an old couple, both staring into the fire pit of the hut as they spoke to one another. One was woman with long silver hair, her greyish blue color and was a little small in build, while the man across from her had greying brown hair, green eyes and a powerful build for his age.

"So they plan on testing her do they? Those nobles can never leave things alone…but you do know we cannot interfere. They would simply use it as an excuse to fail her and put the other child on the throne,' the old man said to the woman across him.

"Maybe so, but we have to at least try and find out if can do something to aid her since her mother clearly have proven incompetent in doing so! If not us, than who will stand up for against those who clearly desire her exiled from her own home?" the old woman countered, her furry at what was going outside their forest home clearly being contained, but just barely .

"True…but how can we do that? Let's not forget even her father has not been of much either, if he can't aid her what makes you think we can?" the old man replied calmly, trying to be the voice of reason of the pair.

The woman was silent for a moment before finally answering. "I'm not sure…at least let me trying and look into things more and see if I can make sure the trials are fair," the old woman requested, which seemed to get a nodded of acceptance from her companion.

"Just be sure you are not discovered," the old man instructed her, though he knew if anyone of their people could avoid notice of the nobles, it was the woman before him.

The mysterious woman than left quickly, heading for 'civilization' to watch over Will for unknown reasons. No one would know these two would play a key role in the outcome of many events of the days to come.

000

At the royal palace, Tolag and Karen were in a private chamber with Lord Vulkron. They were unsure why the lord wanted to see them now that they have given their statements to the Council of Nobles.

"I'm glad I could meet with you both on such short notice. I wanted to ask you to aid me adding some special additions to the princess' tests. I feel the unexpected tactics I and a few other nobles have in mind could be beneficial for her if she can overcome them. We felt you two would be best suited for this task," Lord Vulkron explained to the pair, who grew even more confused at this. They had no idea how the nobles would feel either of them could be of aid in such an event.

"My lord…how could we possibly …" Tolag started to ask, but was cut short by Vulkron saying one word, "Zulrig."

Both Tolag and Karen went pale at hearing this name, but before they could begin to explain Vulkron spoke again, "Do not fear, I have no intention of exposing this secret to the wrong people, such as the queen or even Lady Adira. It's because of him you both desired admit key pieces of information about our princess and now, me and my personal allies believe you both should be rewarded for this."

The pair calmed down upon hearing this and listened to the instructions Lord Vulkron had for them.

000

A week later, all preparations had been made and Will had her first outfit on and her seconded loaded into her bag, along with the hatchet, walkie-talkies and most of the food bars and smoke grenades. Two of them were at the ready on her belt, as were the animal repellant, water canteen and her two weapons. The short sword was on her right hip and her dagger on the left, the strategy being to have the sword in her left had fend off attacks until she can get in close with the dagger in the event a killing blow was needed.

Caleb did not think Will would need such method, at least not against most foes she might face since few tests require the potential heir to face deadly opposition. The main idea was if Will came into contact with a creature that would not be retained by the rules of the test, like wild beasts or savage races that would see Will as prey or a violator of their territory.

'Let's hope Caleb's training was enough," Will thought, as her mother appeared before in a flash of light that came with a telatransport. The woman noted the choice of attire and the amount of gear at the ready, very pleased her daughter had taken advantage of Earth's recourses to give her an edge no one could plan against without considerable knowledge of the other world.

"Someone looks more ready for war then a test," Susan teased Will, who blushed a little but shrugged it off and took the Mage Ring out of her pocket. The redhead gently placed the ring in her mother's hand, who nodded approvingly.

'That's my girl; she did not even need to be asked for the ring,' Susan thought proudly of her child, while gently stroking Will's red hair. Susan sadly cut this silent praising short, since she knew the longer they took, the more likely the nobles would think she was offering Will advise the queen shouldn't be telling her.

Susan telatransport them both to the throne room, where all he nobles plus Will's father, her friends and even the Oracle and Yan Lin were present. All had come to watch Will as she went through her trials.

The Guardians and Yan Lin and even the Oracle had come in a more supportive role, while the nobles were obviously present in the more official capacity as judges for Will's test. Though Susan would not say it just yet, she knew the Oracle was mainly here in the chance Will fails and take Will to the safety of Candracar, rather than allow the nobles to send her to whatever world they had in mind.

Candracar was still unsure if they would restore Will's Guardian status, since keeping Elyon as the Keeper would allow Will to have more freedom while she was in exile. She could travel to any world she wanted, while also being able to learn from the sages of Candracar and thus return to Meridian with both experience and knowledge that make her able to show what the nobles gave up on.

Of course only a few knew this was the oracle's reason for being her. Officially his presence was to watch over a former Guardian and thought he would offer his support, something he was not able to do openly during her time in the service of Candracar.

'Let's hope the Oracle won't need to act,' Susan silently prayed, knowing the nobles would be trying to do anything to punish Candracar for doing this. The nobles would fail of course, since Susan would not support any such actions as both a queen and as a mother. It was simply impossible to do anything to Candracar without magic and Susan would not use hers to attack the Fortress at the Heart of Infinity.

Meanwhile Lady Adira stepped forward and declared to Will, "Princess Wilhelmina, we of the Council of Nobles hereby declare the Right of Succession Trials has begun! Will you proceed or will you forfeit your right to the throne?"

Will was a little intimidated by the strict and stern statement, but quickly gathered her courage and replied, "I'll go through with the trials."

Upon saying those words, Lady Adira nodded her head and presented a small blue pendant to Will while explaining what it was, "Then take this, this object will act as your compass and make sure you are always heading towards the current location you reach while overcoming the challenges we will have in place to stop you."

Will took the pendent placed it around her neck, while waiting for her final instructions, which were explained by Lord Vulkron this time, "For the next three days, you will go through a series of tests while you travel. You will get exactly three tests the first day, one the next day and two on the final day. Do you understand?"

Will nodded her head that she understood and so the nobles who chose Will needed these tests circled round and chanted out in unison, "Then go forth and prove you are worthy to be heir to Meridian's throne!"

The pedant gave off a bright blue light once this chant was completed and sent the redhead off a brilliant pillar of blue light. The Trials had begun!

000

AN: And there you guys go, hoped you all enjoyed chapter try to have chapter 4 out in a month (two at most)


	4. Day 1 Part 1: The Test of Knowledge

AN: Here is the next chapter of Trials for Meridian's Throne, hope you will enjoy. Would like to thank Darev for beta reading this chapter and the following people for reviewing last time: Philip Gipson. Yellow 14, FFHannibal, TTigerz and Darev.

Disclaimer: Do not own W..I.T.C.H.

000

Chapter 4: Day 1 Part 1: The Test of Knowledge

As Will disappeared in the pillar of lightning, the nobles turned back to gather near the foot of Susan's throne where the queen cast the mystic sand on the floor and created the viewing pool. This was so they could watch and see if Will passed each test. If she did succeed, the nobles wanted to know how she did it.

Though this fact was not known to Will, how she faced the hidden meaning of the tests was more important than getting past the challenges. In theory, a potential heir could only finish half of a gauntlet-style trial and still pass. Given the nobles' lack of faith in Will, though it was unlikely to happen that way, they were still going keep an open mind and see if their princess could prove them wrong.

"So what evil scheme do you have up first for Will?" Irma asked Lady Adira in a sarcastic and bitter tone, thought the elderly woman scoffed at the accusation that this was a scheme of some kind.

"You seem to have the impression we are plotting against the princess. I assure we are not. This is for the sake of our world's future stability, something you should glad we are doing since it only helps give you and the other Guardians one less world to worry about," Lady Adira stated firmly, not liking she was being treated like a villain by these so-called guardians. They were clearly a bad influence on Princess Elyon, who had been treating the majority of the nobles as cold as the Guardians and Princess Wilhelmina's parents had.

Of course, Lady Adira took into account that they acted very quickly and with virtually no notice of their plans and thus knew once all present had calmed down, that they would see the logic in the council's actions. The elderly woman just needed to be patient a little longer and her point would be proven, no matter if the princess succeeded or failed in her challenges.

Irma was about make another comment, but, the Oracle cut her off by saying, "It's starting." This caused everyone to turn their attention back towards the viewing pool and would find out what Will's first test would be.

000

It took Will a moment to refocus her eyes from the bright flash of light and regain her balance from the new form of teleporting. Upon regaining her awareness, Will found herself on a ledge overlooking a dense forest. She also saw some barren land at the edge of the trees and that a few miles inland there seemed to be a village and a few hills that she assumed would be as barren and rocky as the rest of the area.

"Well…looks like we were right to prepare for a wilderness challenge," Will mumbled, before she took the blue teardrop-shaped pendant lady Adira gave her from around her neck and tried to figure out how it was supposed to help her. It began to glow a moment and a fiery-orange arrow appeared on the crystal.

It did not take Will long to guess the arrow was telling her where to go, making it probably more accurate than any compass_._ She would always be able to find her tests easily when she always knew their general direction, compared to a compass that could be misread if you didn't know how to use it.

Will noted the arrow pointed in the direction of the village she could see from her current location. The redhead was unsure if the village was the finish, the location of her test, or if it just happened to be in the same direction she had to go and maybe it was the hills beyond the village.

'No point trying to figure it out. I only have three days to do all this and can't waste time trying figure out the plans of the nobles,' Will mentally commented, before she went to look for a way off this mountain and into the forest.

What Will did not know was that several pairs of glowing yellow eyes were watching her as she began walking. These eyes belonged to one of Meridian's most cunning creatures, the Moggriff. These creatures were part of the first tests the nobles had planned for Will.

000

Back in the throne room, I.T.C.H.E. were trying to figure out what the creatures were but Caleb sensed their confusion and said, "Those are Moggriffs, a race of creatures who can mimic the form of their prey and use it to confuse the target until they can move in for the kill. They are sentient but savage and primitive, and thus do not mix with the other people of Meridian. They also steal and torment farmers and small villages, so if they do not hunt people, it's just so they can steal from them."

The girls gasped at hearing this, since it now seemed Will was the potential prey of these creatures, while Susan looked at the nobles with a cold glare. The queen knew it was not by chance Will appeared right in front of a pack of Moggriffs. The odds of such of thing were virtually none, so it had to have been planned somehow by the nobles to be part of the trials.

"And how will facing such creatures prove she is fit to be heir? Prove she can survive against creatures that would normally be unable to even get close to a queen?" Susan demanded, thinking this trial so far was closer to the kind used by the first queen to kill off her 'weaker' heirs.

Lady Adira was unshaken by the queen's tone and simply replied, "Given the princess' lack of time on our world, we have to be sure she has been learning about the various creatures she could be called on to deal with. Moggriffs are troublesome creatures and are just one of many dangerous creatures Princess Wilhelmina might need to know of if she needs to organize a plan to deal with them if they gather in large numbers."

Susan and Jaden knew the chances of such an event were not unlikely, though such instances of a Moggriff horde attacking in large numbers was rare. Moggriffs have done so in the past and so have other similar races, like the Lurdens. At the same time though, the two parents were wondering if this first test was just a scheme to end their daughter's chances right away.

If that were the case, they knew a group of five girls who right now could not take their eyes off the viewing pool would quickly rectify the problem. It was obvious to everyone in the room if anything did happen to the redhead, it would make the group of teens very unhappy with the nobles...especially Elyon.

'If only Aunt Susan had another child…it would not help Will with the trials but it would at least make it harder for the nobles to use me in whatever game they are playing," the second princess of Meridian thought, as she prayed Will would be okay.

000

An hour later, Will was walking along a narrow path down the mountain, while keeping an eye out for the first test. This was difficult given how loose the trial's rocks were but the redhead had to make due.

Sadly, the sound of her feet stepping on the rocky surface muffled what little sound the Moggriffs made, as they either flew several feet behind Will or climbing along the rock face with their sharp claws and talons.

The evil creatures were watching the girl closely so they had every detail of her in their mind and waiting for the best moment to strike. They wanted their prey to be in the forest before striking since the path was far too narrow. If they attacked now they might knock their target off the mountain and prevent them from giving chase.

To the Moggriffs, the chase gave the flesh a form of seasoning, plus it allowed them also satisfy their sadistic nature. Unless the savage creatures sated their darker desires, filling their stomachs would have little meaning to them.

Sadly for the pack of evil savages, their youngest member was too impatient for the chase to wait for the right time to strike and dove in for the kill. Its loud screech made Will spin around to see the green creature flying at her and caused the redhead to fall into a backwards slide down the path, the Moggriff's claw the Moggriff's strike barely missing her.

As Will slid down the path, another Moggriff knocked the younger one to the ground, hissing at it in a furry. "Why attack when prey was not in the right spot? Now hunt ruined!" The bigger and older Moggriff demanded, while one other clung to the rock face above the knocked down member and a third circled overhead of them so it could dive and help punish the one that ruined the hunt.

But before the trio could move in to attack, the leader of the group let out a roar that halted the bickering and then stated, "We will not waste time. Hunt has begun and we will not lose our prey because you were fighting one another."

This saved the young one's life though the look his leader made it clear if he tried something like this again, the leader of the group would deal with him personally.

Meanwhile, Will had finally stopped sliding down the path and was getting back to her feet when she saw the five Moggriffs flying towards her. The redhead knew bits about many of Meridian's creatures and right now what little she did know of these creatures said she'd better run!

'I swear if this is one of the tests I know the Nobles wants me dead, not exiled!' Will exclaimed in her mind, while running down the twisting and rocky to get off the mountain and into the forest below.

Fortunately for Will, the Moggriffs were focused on getting organized again and let her get some distance down the path before she heard the creatures' furious screams. The redhead looked back just long enough to see five evil creatures take to the air and being able to pursue her once again.

'Only one chance to get away…its official I am so firing a few those nobles if live through this!' Will screamed in her mind and did the one thing no one would expect: jump of the edge of the path just as one of the Moggriffs got within reach of her.

"Prey thinks it can fly!" The leader called out mockingly as he missed grabbing Will. This made the other members of its pack laugh evilly, despite thinking their prey would die from the fall and they would just have to go straight for the meal.

000

"WILL!" Many of the people in the throne room called out in horror, these being her friends and family while the nobles who organized the trials seemed shocked at the their princess' choice of action.

"The girl is both cowardly and suicidal!" One of the nobles exclaimed, thinking Will's choice to die over at least trying to fight first only proved the trials had been needed to expose her weakness for all to see.

Of course all the comment really did was cur the anger of five teenage girls and the boyfriend of the supposed 'coward'. The only reason they did not get a chance to kill the man where he stood was because Susan spoke up.

"You can hurt him later. Right now you might want keep watching. Will is only proving she is her father's daughter when it comes doing something crazy, not committing suicide," Susan told the people present making not only Will's friends look back to the viewing pool, but also the nobles who had written her off and all were shocked to see what Will had done in the heat of the moment.

Jaden had shot his wife a mild glare at the crazy comment, but he knew what Susan meant. Not many would have thought of the tactic Will had done, but it seems his child had finally starting showing the nobles she had more strength and conviction then they gave her credit for.

000

Back with Will, the redhead was falling straight down and it would had been the death of her if it hadn't been for something she had kept an eye out for ever since the start of the trials. Caleb had heavily stressed the need for an escape route at all times and to fight only as a last resort.

On a mountain path one would think the redhead had two escape routes: the path and death. But Will had taken Caleb's instruction to heart and found a third option, a small tree growing out of the side of the mountain. It was barely the size of the branch of a full grown tree in the forest below but still big and strong enough for Will to grab onto and stop her fall.

The only down side of this was the fact she had dropped at least twelve feet just to reach the branch, so grabbing onto the tree would hurt her arms a little but at least it kept her from falling to her death. Plus despite hurting a fair bit, Will could still pull herself up to the stop of the branch and draw her shortsword for when the Moggriffs finally came looking for where their 'meal' had landed.

It was not long after Will managed to get into position when her five savage foes came diving downward from the path, thinking their prey had already landed in the forest below. This made the one who first came down flying past Will's on the tree spot unable to defend itself as Will slashed right through its wing with the finely crafted blade her mother had given her. It also helped the bat like wings of the Moggriff were easily damage by sharp objects, which made it easy to get a clean cut and send the evil beast spiraling toward the ground below.

Sadly this would be the only easy kill Will would get, since the other four Moggriffs had more time to veer away from the small tree and out of Will's reach. Of course despite still being outnumbered and unable to attack her opponents, she knew she had a very small advantage by taking the first of the pack. The Moggriffs would be scared to get in close now.

Right now all the four remaining members of the pack could do was circle overhead as they tried to figure out what to do. No matter how much they wanted to go after their prey they obviously did not wish to risk being struck by the girl's sharp weapon.

Of course while three of the Moggriffs had the patience to wait for a decent chance to attack, the young whelp on the other hand only needed a few minutes before the desire to kill overtook him. With a high pitch screech the creature dove at Will at its maximum speed, planning on grabbing the redhead and sinking its claw into her throat.

The only thing that saved Will was the fact the young Moggriff's movements were sloppy from being inexperienced and reckless. Plus it helped the loud screech startled Will enough to slip and fall off the tree soon enough that the young hunter's claws missed Will.

Sadly this little tumble meant the redhead was going to fall yet again but this time she had no way to save herself. All Will could do was scream in terror as she fell, while the Moggriff that knocked her off the tree dove after her while its pack mates were still caught off guard by what happened.

"Prey is mine!" The young Moggriff called out with glee, diving at full speed to grab Will, its rear claws being brought forward like and owl or hawk would to capture their target. Sadly for the young Moggriff, a panicking and desperate Will used her free hand to grab its right ankle and swing out of the way of the second claw, while at the same time stabbing her attacker in the hip with her shortsword.

The Moggriff screamed in pain while the shock caused it to stop flapping its wings and fall towards the ground. Unlike the previous falling Moggriff the young hunter did not got into an out of control spin; this one maintained a straight dive showing it still had some control despite its injury.

The Moggriff planned on a controlled crash so to get to the ground to care for its wound while at the same at least injure its prey, if not kill it. Of course the young Moggriff was forgetting Will was holding onto it and not the other way around. This gave Will control on what she could do…even if what she did was probably stupid thing to do in midair. She pulled herself forward and thrust her blade into the Moggriffs back.

The blow killed her would be devourer, but caused its lifeless form to spin even more out control then the one she only injured, making them crash into the trees moments later. The dead Moggriff's body shielded Will from any injury as they crashed through the branches, but by the time the 'landed' the teenage girl felt like the world was spinning.

"I hate nobles" Will grumbled, while stumbled around as she got to her feet took out the mystic compass for a double check on where to go, when she heard more of the same screeches her last opponent called out when charging her and made her look up to see the last three trying make their way through top of the trees.

"I REALLY HATE NOBLES!" Will ranted, as the adrenaline surge dispelled her dazed state and start running through the thickest brush she could find. Will knew she needed to make ground before the Moggriffs landed. In the forest the Moggriffs could not fly, but with their ability to replicate forms of others they could easily change to a form that could travel on the ground much better than their true forms could.

The trio of remaining Moggriffs landed near the body of their formerly rebellious member and looked at his corpse in disgust. "Foolish child killed by prey! He deserved death!" The Leader of the pack stated, before raking one of his rear claws across the face of his former pack mate (the Moggriff version of kicking a dead body).

With that the three Moggriffs then began to change shape and took the form of Will, only their eyes looked much more feral then the original. They also seem slouch more and keep lower to the ground than Will or other humans would, a habit most Moggriffs had since they were not used to being bipedal. They could still run on only two legs, but it would still help Will in terms of being a little more agile in comparison.

Once the trio were finished changing, the trio started running so they could catch up with Will. Despite losing two members of their pack they got what they wanted, the redhead in the forest. Now they could do their hunt in their favored method and could also wear their prey down to the point where they would not need to fear her weapon anymore.

000

Back in the throne room, several nobles were grumbling about the two times Will verbally made it clear she did not like them very much. Lord Olsen and the other supports of the queen hoped this dislike did not apply to them because they could see the redhead seeking retribution once this was over and did not wish to be on the receiving end of the princess' wrath.

Susan on other hand only had one thing to say about all that had happened, "I stand by what I said: she is her father's daughter. Insanity runs in her blood!"

Jaden once again shot his wife small glare and grumbled something about not being insane, which would normally get giggling from some of Will's friends but they were heavily focused on the redhead current predicament.

"Aunt Susan…are you sure this is a good time to tease Uncle Jaden? Will still seem to be in danger and it seemed more like luck then skill saved her once the attack started," Elyon asked her aunt, her voice clearly very concern for Will's wellbeing.

"Don't you worry, Elyon. Will might be in trouble at the moment but I'm certain she can overcome this test easily enough. Caleb has clearly trained her well and Will has always had great strength and resourcefulness so I'm certain she can easily deal with the last of the Moggriffs now that they are on the ground," Susan assured her niece, though deep down she did still worry the savage creatures might still win. The dark haired woman just knew her daughter well enough to have faith she could succeed.

Vulkron snorted at the mentioning of Will being strong and resourceful, but did not make any actual comment about it. He knew it would have every magic user in the room turn their powers on him or at the very least a shapeshifter trying to finish what he started when Vulkron took Will's powers.

Lady Adira on the other hand kept her signs of disbelief at the princess being a formable person hidden very well. She did admit the child showed minor promise in confidence and knowledge, but has yet show if this was a regular occurrence or just the heat of the moment. The fact that some of the action could be mistaken as acts suicide or at least a 'nothing to lose' mentality did not help Lady Adira's opinion of the child.

'Let us hope for the princess' sake, she can show she had problem solving skill that can't be confused with acts of suicide or seen as dumb luck,' The old woman mused, while watching the view pool closely and see how Princess Wilhelmina faired against the last three Moggriffs.

000

As Will ran, she could hear the stomping and growling sounds of her three pursuers as they gave chase. Will glanced back to see, much to her shock and horror despite everything she knew of Moggriffs, three versions of herself right behind her.

It was bad enough she was running from 'herself' but the idea that these other versions of her were probably planning on EATING her was what freaked Will out the most. No amount of mental preparation would help most people get over things like that!

After a few minutes of chase, the leader signaled his two pack mates to split up with one going over in the right direction and the other going to the left. The basic plan was to be a form of pincer attack, with the two Moggriffs focusing getting ahead for the target and attacking from the sides, while the third one tries to take the prey down from behind.

This also doubles as way to cut off any escape attempts, since running to the right or left would be met by possibly caught by either the Moggriffs on the far sides or the third one still managing to come up from behind. It left a straight line being the target's only option making it a contest of stamina and speed over evasion, something the Moggriffs had in great supply in both categories.

Will on the hand was falling right into their hands, focusing more on running rather than how to actually lose her pursuers. She was panicking and losing stamina by the second. Her only hope was to regain enough self-control to outwit her foes or she was done for.

To make matters worse for Will, the Moggriffs knew the immediate area very well and were herding her into a spot ideal for the finish of this hunt. The location being one that was an open clearing with large amounts of deadfall, a perfect place for the Moggriffs to change back to their true forms and attack from above while their prey was prevented from going into an all-out run because of all the fallen timber and tangled brush.

The only good thing going for Will right now was the fact she saw the clearing coming up and feared the very thing the Moggriffs planned, though she assumed the clearing coincidence. This made Will need to choose between fight in the forest where there were many trees for her foes could dart around and make hard to keep track of or fight them in an area that allowed them fight on the ground or in the air whenever they pleased.

Making her choice quickly, the redhead went with fighting them in the forest and turned around and charged the Moggriff that was right behind her and hit him with a leaping front kick. None of her pursuers were expecting their prey turn around and fight, so the two that had spread out to the left and right had kept going while their leader was caught off guard had Will's foot firmly planted in his chest.

The force of the blow knocked the Moggriff over and became dazed upon hitting the ground hard, the loud thud finally catching the attention of the final two Moggriffs and making them realize they had left their target behind.

The two skidded to a halt and tried come back to save their leader in time, but it was too late. With the fear of death and seeing an opening to attack driving her, Will jumped into the air and slammed the tip of her blade into the leader of the Moggriffs' chest, making its copied face of Will's widen in pain and terror.

Death came quickly though and its now dead formed slowly changed to its true shape and making Will no longer have to look upon her own face anymore. It did not stop the image of seeing 'herself' die by her on hands and burn the image into the mind of the young girl.

It made Will puke as she finally realized she had not taken just this Moggriff's life but the lives of two others as well, not something she even thought she would despite Caleb having done everything he could to prepare her for this possible event.

While Will struggled to get her stomach back under control, the other two Moggriffs were frozen in their tracks. Despite their prey being an easy target, they had no wish to go near an opponent who had taken out their leader and two others in the group, thus were quickly choose to use this moment to choose between fleeing or finishing off their target.

The cowardly nature of the Moggriffs quickly ended the internal debate and the two final standing hunters returned to their natural forms and made for the clearing. Once out in the open they flew as fast as they could, planning on finding a safer target to chase and kill for their next meal.

000

In the throne room, the nobles seemed disgusted by Will current actions; though it was unclear if it was because she was puking at the moment or if it was form what caused her to do this. Her father was somewhat disappointed because his warrior and hunter nature but somewhat more understanding to his daughter's reaction to her first kills.

Susan and I.T.C.H.E. on the other hand were worried about the effect this would have on Will mentally, since taking a life was hard to at any age, let alone a thirteen year old girl. The only one who was neutral to the scene that was happening was Caleb, who had often been with new rebels who made their first kill and had expected this to happen to Will. He was concerned for since was Will's boyfriend, but leading a war partially desensitizes a person to such events after seeing them more times than one could count.

Of course Caleb's neutral attitude went out the window when Lord Vulkron commented in a snide tone," So much for being strong. She can't even handle a simple battle against such mindless creatures!"

Caleb had started to take a few steps towards the man (and several magic users were powering up an attack) when Matt Olsen pushed past his grandfather and parents and punched Lord Vulkron in the face. The older noble had not expected the 'weakest' of their kind to be the one to attack him or Vulkron would have been ready, so was easily knocked to the ground by the force of the blow.

Of course had Vulkron knew the young man before him was Shagon, he would probably fear Matt Olsen more than Caleb. The only thing stopping the younger lord form unleashing his powers was the knowledge the trouble exposing his secret before such prominent people would only lead to his immediate execution. Shagon was still a wanted criminal after all and only Will, Caleb and Cornelia knew the truth that Shagon was 'retired'.

"Call her weak again and you will wish it was me who chooses to strike you next time!" Matt growled out, his threat making the veteran warrior/noble actually feel a tinge of fear. Matt may have given up his pursuit of Will's affection but would not tolerate any insults toward his future ruler.

With that Matt backed away from Lord Vulkron, only glancing towards Caleb for a moment to see his nod of approval. None of the other nobles who stood against Will dared to oppose the future head of the Olsen family for his actions, knowing Queen Susan clearly acted like nothing happened.

Once Matt had stepped in to deal with the arrogant lord, Susan had simply gone back to watching her daughter and seeing the poor girl had pulled her sword free and run away from the scene. Susan knew her daughter was trying to get away from the memories of the battle.

'Stay strong Will and be ready for your next great test…' Susan thought as she watched her daughter run, then focused her thought on Raythor who was in the forest right now. He was Will's next test.

'Be ready Raythor, Will is going to be heading toward you very soon.'

000

At the camp Raythor was stationed at right now, he replied to his queen's message and exited his tent so see her several dozen troops waiting for their orders.

"Men we move out at once! Our mission, capture Princess Wilhelmina before she reaches this camp!" With those words, his troops saluted and began gathering in their groups and head out to comb the forest for their princess.

000

AN: And another chapter comes to a close, will hopefully have the next one out soon. Hope you enjoyed this one.


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